Capture the Flag: Romans vs Greeks
by MariaClaire
Summary: It's time to play Capture the Flag. And in this game, it's Camp Jupiter versus Camp Half-Blood. Who will take home the win? ***Story is set at Camp Half-Blood a few days after the end of the war with Gaea and the giants.***
1. Greek I: Percy

*****Hi all! For everyone who has been following my version of Blood of Olympus, this is the Capture the Flag game that takes place between Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter after the end of the Giant War. The story is set at Camp Half-Blood. This was supposed to be a one-shot, but as I was writing, the story got bigger than originally planned. So now, instead, it's going to be nine chapters, one from each of the point-of-view characters, who will be the Seven, plus Reyna and Nico. Hope you enjoy! The next chapter will be up by Monday, August 25.*****

**GREEK I - Percy**

When Annabeth assigned him to guard duty, at first Percy thought she was kidding. Then, he wondered if he'd done something to make her mad, even though she insisted that wasn't the case.

"It's not a punishment, Percy," she finally said, exasperated. "You're the son of Poseidon. I need you by the creek so you can use the water to help keep the Romans out of our territory."

"But that's so _boring_." The two of them were walking down from the Big House, where the Greek head counselors had been putting the final touches on their plans for the Capture the Flag game against the Romans. As they reached the arena, near the edge of the woods, Percy grabbed Annabeth's hand, forcing her to turn and look at him. He fixed her with his best pleading look. "Come on, Annabeth. Let me be on offense. Please."

"Gods, Piper was right about those baby seal eyes," Annabeth muttered. For a moment, Percy dared to hope that he'd win, but then she shook her head. "Percy, just trust me. I have a plan. And I need you on defense by the creek."

"Fine," he grumbled, dropping her hand so he could draw Riptide from his pocket.

"You're cute when you pout." Annabeth kissed him, which made Percy feel marginally better. "Now, help me find Leo. I want to make sure he has everything ready to go."

They found Leo with the rest of the Hephaestus campers at the edge of the woods, each of them loaded down with blowtorches, hammers, and a lot of other tools that Percy didn't know the names for. Leo had a slightly maniacal gleam in his eyes, but he grinned as he walked over to them.

Percy still found it hard to believe that the guy was dating Calypso. The two of them seemed happy together, though, which Percy was glad to see. However, things between Percy and Calypso were still awkward. Percy hated to admit it, but he was relieved Calypso wasn't here this evening. She'd left after breakfast to visit some old Nereid friends and wouldn't be back until tomorrow.

"Great day for a war," Leo said cheerfully.

"War _game_," Annabeth corrected. "Do you have everything?"

"Yep." Leo set down the canvas bag he was carrying with a loud CLANG. Percy knew it was loaded with Celestial bronze pieces. Leo patted the bag proudly. "It's not great for stealth, but give us twenty minutes and those woods will be bursting with trip-lines, snares, nets, and all sorts of other super-fun traps. The Romans won't know what hit them."

"Frank will be expecting this," Percy pointed out, as he had done at every planning meeting over the last two days. "And the Romans will have set up their own traps on their side of the woods."

"True, but Zhang won't know exactly where our traps are, or what they do." Leo wiggled his eyebrows. "And I guarantee you the Roman traps won't be nearly as cool as mine."

"We still have to neutralize Hazel," Percy said. "She'll be able to sense all that bronze."

"Don't worry about Hazel. We have a plan to distract her." Annabeth looked critically at the Hephaestus camper's assembled tools and gear. "The Apollo and Ares cabins are going to be defending the border. They should be able to buy you twenty minutes to set up, but try to get it done faster. If all the cohorts attack at once, our lines might not hold."

Leo nodded and gave her the thumbs-up. "We'll get it done."

A conch horn sounded, signaling that the teams could get into place.

"That's our cue!" Leo called to his cabin-mates. He swung his bag of bronze back over his shoulder, looking like a skinny Latino Santa Claus who, from the sound of it, only gave out metal gifts. Leo shot Percy and Annabeth another crazy grin, then disappeared into the trees with the rest of his cabin.

"Guess I'll head over to the creek," Percy said. "Unless you'd rather send me to help Jason with—"

"The creek is perfect." Annabeth smiled sweetly. "And go north, near where the Labyrinth entrance used to be."

"Great, could I be any _further_ from the action?" Percy complained.

"Just trust me, Seaweed Brain. Remember, Athena always has a plan." Annabeth gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, then jogged off to where the majority of the Greek campers were assembled.

Percy wasn't thrilled with this particular plan of Athena's, but he did trust Annabeth. He uncapped Riptide, which sprang to full size in his hand. Gripping the sword, he set off into the woods, heading for the creek.

Watching the boundary was about as boring as Percy expected. He couldn't hear anything from the rest of the game. Around him, the woods were quiet; he didn't even hear any monsters stomping around. Percy played with the creek water, making it rise and form different shapes in the air, while trying hard not to think about the Battle of the Labyrinth. The pile of rocks that used to be Zeus's Fist was in a clearing not far from him.

Percy was in the process of making the water take the shape of a lightning bolt (hooray, more happy memories), when he heard a sharp _snap_, as if someone had stepped on a twig. The water splashed back into the creek as Percy turned, raising Riptide.

He saw nothing.

Wondering if he was being paranoid, Percy moved closer to the trees. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of movement. Before he could react, something heavy hit him hard on the side of the head.

Percy collapsed, landing beside the creek, dazed. His sword rolled out of his limp fingers. Just before he blacked out, Percy caught a glimpse of what might have been a stuffed panda bear, dangling from someone's belt.


	2. Roman I: Frank

*****Hi all, sorry this chapter is a day late, it took longer to finish than I'd expected, but I like the way it turned out, hope you do too! Because this story is a direct sequel to my version of Blood of Olympus, it does reference some things from that story. In this chapter, there are a couple of references to what happened in Chapter 34 of my BoO story, between Reyna, Percy, Octavian, and Frank, regarding Percy's oath to stand by the Romans if the Greeks attacked. It's not really necessary to read that to understand what's going on here, but just fyi.**

**Again, hope you enjoy this chapter. Thanks so much to everyone who favorited and reviewed the first chapter! Chapter Three will be up by Thursday, August 28.*** **

**ROMAN I: Frank**

Frank was nervous. Reyna had assigned him full command of Camp Jupiter's strategy.

"I'm tired of sitting on the sidelines," she said. "This time, I want in the game."

Reyna was a good fighter and Frank was glad to have another resource. But he was also terrified of messing up. This was his first huge test as a praetor and he didn't want to fail. After the war with Gaea and the giants, it should have been no big deal to plan a strategy for a friendly game. But Frank didn't want to see the legion's reaction if they lost. Especially if they lost because his strategy failed.

"It's just for fun," Hazel tried to reassure him. "The fate of the world isn't hanging in the balance this time."

Which was true, but Frank also knew that his future as a praetor might be on the line. Romans didn't appreciate failure. They really needed to win.

But Frank knew what they were going up against. The Romans might have the Greeks beat on sheer numbers, but the Greeks were more cunning. Plus, Camp Half-Blood had the home field advantage. They also had both Percy and Jason, not to mention Leo, who Frank guessed was concocting some devious traps to set up in the woods. The Romans also had some skills in setting traps and luring their enemies into them, but Frank had just spent a month watching Leo at work and he knew his friend's mechanical skills were far above the Roman builders.

So, Problem #1: The Greeks' home court advantage.

To be fair, the Greek campers had given the Romans a tour of the woods so they could get a feel for the lay of the land. Also, to keep things even, it had been agreed on that no one could set up any structures or traps before the game actually started. All of that, Frank figured, was about as good as they could get to keeping the game fair on the Greeks home turf. Unfortunately it couldn't make up for the fact that Annabeth, who was in charge of the Greeks' strategy, had been at Camp Half-Blood for nearly a decade and knew the woods much better than Frank. However, he had done the best he could to utilize the landscape. For instance, the trees made great cover for ambushes.

On to Problem #2: The Greek territory was going to be a minefield.

Frank's solution: His awesome girlfriend, who could detect precious metals, including Celestial bronze.

"Our friends will be expecting me to look for snares and traps," Hazel warned. "What if they use regular ropes or something?"

"Then we're in trouble," Frank admitted. "But it's Leo. You know he prefers to work with bronze. He says it has a lot more capabilities or something like that."

"True," Hazel agreed.

Frank hoped he was right. He also suspected that Annabeth might have a plan to draw Hazel away from the main action, but without knowing the plan, he couldn't counter it. He would just have to hope they could improvise if they needed to.

Finally, Problem #3: The Greeks had Percy and Jason.

A lot of the Romans had been upset when Jason announced he was going to play on the side of Camp Half-Blood, but Frank couldn't blame the guy, not when Jason's girlfriend and best friend were both playing on the Greek side. But it did create some problems. The game might have been just for fun, but demigods were free to use their powers to their team's advantage, and with both Jason and Percy, the Greek team had a lot of advantages.

The one stroke of luck the Romans had was that Nico di Angelo had decided to play for the Romans. Actually, Frank was pretty sure the guy hadn't been going to join in at all, but Hazel had begged him.

"It'll be fun," she insisted to Nico. "Please play."

Finally, he had relented. "But I'm on Hazel's team," he said firmly. No one argued with him.

Frank was thrilled to have Nico on his team. The guy's shadow-travel skills could definitely come in handy. Because although most of the legion was going to be launching a frontal assault to try to break through Camp Half-Blood's defenses and win by sheer force, Frank hadn't lost sight of the fact that the aim of the game was to, well, capture the flag. And a small strike team could accomplish that much more easily than an army. Having Nico on his side fit Frank's plans perfectly.

A tent had been set up near Camp Half-Blood's dining pavilion for the Roman officers. Frank was currently alone in the tent; everyone else was already at the edge of the woods, getting ready for the game. Frank needed to get down there, too. He scanned a map of the woods one last time, mentally marking a few significant spots. Satisfied that he would be able to find his way around, Frank grabbed his bow and arrows and strode out of the tent.

There were butterflies in his stomach as he made his way over to where the legion was assembling, but these were nothing compared to the battle jitters he'd experienced before the final battle in Greece or even when he'd faced the cannibal giants at his grandmother's mansion. Still, Frank couldn't pretend he wasn't a little nervous about how the evening would go. Especially considering the first part of the plan, which only two other people knew about and which was a specific kind of dangerous.

As Frank reached the edge of the woods, he saw Annabeth not far away, talking to Percy and Leo. Percy looked put out about something, which Frank hoped was a good sign. Leo seemed as naturally cheerful as ever, grinning with a giant canvas sack slung over his shoulder. Frank wasn't sure he wanted to know what was in there.

Annabeth glanced over and caught Frank's eye. He gave her a tiny nod, then turned back to face the legion as Reyna approached him.

"Ready to lead us to victory, my fellow praetor?" she asked with a dry smile.

"I hope so," Frank said. He looked out over the assembled cohorts. Hazel smiled encouragingly from the front row of the Fifth, her golden eyes bright in the evening light, making Frank's heart do an extra _ka-thump_. Nico was standing near Hazel, outfitted in his usual black. There was a sour expression on his face, though he had seemed almost happy when Frank gave him his assignment. The rest of the legion seemed eager for the game to start. Frank just hoped the game would stay friendly. On that note…

His eyes fell on Octavian, standing at the front of the First Cohort, a scowl on his face, arms crossed over his skinny chest. Despite the fact that he'd been stripped of his title of augor, Octavian still had three teddy bears dangling from his belt. Strapped next to a stuffed panda was a long knife. The nervous butterflies in Frank's stomach picked up speed.

The game was due to start in about a minute. Frank glanced at Reyna, wondering if she was going to address the legion. She caught his eye and smiled again, gesturing for him to step forward. _She really is giving me control of this one_, Frank thought.

Frank squared his shoulders and raised his voice. "Legion, attention!"

As one, the legionnaires snapped to attention, which Frank had to admit was cool. All eyes were on him. _Short and sweet_, he thought. He took a deep breath. "You all know what we need to do to win this game. If everyone does their duty, I have no doubt we will take home a victory tonight." Frank raised his bow in the air and finished with a shout, "Twelfth Legion Fulminata!"

"Twelfth Legion Fulminata!" the legion echoed with a thunderous cry. Frank grinned as adrenaline surged through him.

A conch horn sounded. The game had begun.

Still cheering, the legionnaires rushed forward, streaming around their praetors and into the woods. Frank saw Hazel and Nico surreptitiously break off from the group and head in opposite directions. So far, so good.

Reyna drew her sword as the last of the legionnaires vanished. "I'll see you at the end, Praetor Zhang."

"Good luck," Frank told her. Reyna gave him a tight smile and set off.

Within a few minutes, the demigods of Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood had all disappeared into the forest. Frank was alone in the field.

_Almost alone_, he corrected himself as he looked over to see Annabeth still standing near the tree line. It looked as if she was counting in her head, like she was giving someone a head start. She glanced toward Frank and it was her turn to nod. Then, she slipped away beneath the trees and out of sight.

_Follow the creek north_, he remembered.

Frank hoped he was wrong about what was going to happen next. But he had a sinking feeling he was right.

He slung his bow over his shoulder, then closed his eyes. The next moment he had changed form into a hawk. Frank flapped his powerful wings and took off. He soared upward on a warm summer thermal, then circled, getting his bearings. There was the creek, running north, deeper into the forest. Frank set off, following the path of the creek, his sharp hawk's eyes scanning for his prey.

* * *

Frank spotted his target not far from a clearing with a strange mound of jumbled rocks. Percy was standing on the bank of the creek, making shapes with the water. If Frank hadn't been a bird, he would have chuckled.

A flash of movement in the trees caught his eye. Percy looked up, alert, and drew his sword. Frank dove into the trees and turned back into himself. He grabbed his bow, nocked an arrow, and crept through the trees. The creek wasn't yet in sight when he heard a sickening _thud_, followed by the sound of something heavy, like a body, hitting the ground. Heart hammering, Frank picked up his pace. He burst into the clearing just in time to see Octavian raising a knife over Percy, who was unconscious.

"Freeze!" Frank said, which was the first thing that came to mind.

Octavian's head jerked up. His mouth fell open when he saw Frank, then he quickly shut it. "What are you doing here, Zhang?"

Frank drew back his bowstring, an arrow pointing straight at Octavian's heart. "Put down the knife."

"Why should I?" The skinny ex-augor's face hardened. "Percy Jackson betrayed Rome. He deserves to die. If you were a true Roman, _praetor_, you'd help me."

"If you were a true Roman, you'd fight with some honor," Frank growled. "Instead of sneaking up and stabbing people in the back. You did it to Gwen, you did it to Reyna. No more, Octavian. It's over."

In his peripheral vision, Frank caught a glimpse of someone moving through the trees behind Octavian. Frank kept his eyes on Octavian, who sneered. He didn't put down the knife.

"The traitor Jackson was sentenced to an execution. A real one, not that stunt Reyna pulled. I will carry out the designated punishment. You won't kill me, Zhang; you've already proven you're too soft for that. You'll drag me in front of the Senate for a trial, where I'll prove that I was acting within Roman law and I'll go free. The traitor will be dead and the honor of Rome will be upheld."

Octavian's hand twitched on the knife. Before Frank could move, the point of a bone-white sword pressed against the back of Octavian's neck.

"You'd better do as Frank says," Annabeth told the ex-augor. "Put down the knife or I swear to all the gods I will cut off your stupid head."

Apparently, Octavian was a lot less confident when he was the one being stabbed in the back. The color drained from his face and the knife trembled in his hand as he slowly lowered it to the ground. "Okay. Fine. Look, I'm putting the knife down. Just don't hurt me."

"Pathetic," Frank muttered. He lowered his bow and strode forward, kicking Octavian's knife away.

"Leo!" Annabeth called.

The son of Hephaestus emerged from the trees, holding a golden net. His eyes were narrowed and without his usual grin, he actually looked intimidating. Frank and Annabeth stepped back so Leo could toss the net over Octavian, who shrieked as it tightened around him and he toppled over.

"Nice one," Frank said appreciatively.

"Yep, one hundred percent Hephaestian netting. Very versatile. Works equally well on crazed Maenads and backstabbing scum," Leo said.

On the ground, Percy groaned. Immediately, Annabeth dropped to her knees beside him. Frank knelt down and helped her turn Percy onto his back. She splashed water from the creek on his face, which must have had some healing effect on the son of Poseidon, because within a few minutes, Percy was sitting up and looking around the clearing, blinking. His eyes traveled over Frank and Leo, to Octavian in the gold net, rested momentarily on the rock the ex-augor had used to hit him over the head, then settled on Annabeth. His gaze turned accusing. "You used me as bait again, didn't you?"

Annabeth bit her lip. "Percy, I'm sorry. I really didn't think Octavian would get the drop on you like that."

"Yeah, well," Percy winced as he felt his head, "he's a sneaky piece of—"

"Mmph!" Octavian's voice was muffled by the net across his mouth, which Frank thought was quite an improvement.

"I, for one, vote for leaving him this way," Leo said.

"Seconded." Percy splashed some more water on his face. "But I don't understand exactly what happened here."

Frank and Annabeth exchanged a look, then Frank said, "When Chiron announced the Capture the Flag game the other day, I started thinking about what happened after we won the war games, back at Camp Jupiter. Octavian stabbed Gwen just because he was a sore loser. And I knew he was a lot angrier at the Greeks. I was afraid someone would get hurt."

"Good instinct," Percy said ruefully.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Frank said. "You, um, weren't actually supposed to get hurt."

"My bad."

"Anyway," Frank hurried on, "I went to Annabeth, she brought in Leo, and we came up with this plan, to trap Octavian and get him out of the game before he could cause trouble."

"And I was the bait," Percy said. "But why couldn't you guys tell me the plan?"

Annabeth shrugged. "Octavian is a suspicious guy. If he thought there was a trap, we were afraid he would go after someone else and we wouldn't be able to stop him. The best way for everything to look natural was if you believed you were out here playing defense."

"Makes sense, I guess." Percy perked up. "So does that mean I actually get to be on offense?"

The other three laughed.

"Yeah, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth said, standing up and holding out a hand to help Percy stand. "You're going on offense."

"Sweet," Percy said.

"Uh-oh," Frank muttered.

Leo grinned. "That's right, Frank. You're in enemy territory."

"Because I was helping you guys," Frank protested.

"True," Annabeth said. "Which is why we'll give you a head start to get back to your own side."

Frank couldn't tell whether or not she was serious. He gestured to Octavian. "What about him? We can't just leave him here."

Leo eyed a nearby tree critically. "I think we can throw a rope over that branch and hoist him up. He can't cause trouble if he's dangling fifteen feet in the air. Then you Romans can deal with him after the game."

"Which is still going on," Annabeth pointed out. "

Percy grinned. "Better get back to your side, Frank. Otherwise, we'll have to take you prisoner."

Frank shook his head. "Geez, you save someone's life and he threatens to capture you. That's gratitude."

"Thanks, man." Percy clapped him on the shoulder. "Seriously."

"No problem." Frank smiled. "But just don't take it personally when we beat you guys."

"Don't worry about that, since _we're_ going to win," Percy replied.

"We'll see." With a wave and a grin, Frank changed into a hawk and took off above the trees again. As he winged his way back to the Roman side of the woods, he thought about the fact that, if he wanted, he could probably stay here behind "enemy lines" and wreak havoc on the Greek team. But these weren't really his enemies, they were his friends; he didn't want to cheat them. And besides, Frank thought as he landed back in his own team's territory, real Romans fought with honor.


	3. Greek II: Leo

*****Hi guys. So sorry for the delay on getting this chapter out—seems like the universe doesn't want me to stay on schedule with this story. I blame Gaea, or maybe Ouranos or Kronos (which reminds me, if you haven't read **_**Percy Jackson's Greek Gods**_**, you totally should—it's awesome). But seriously, being sick combined with writer's block meant nothing got accomplished for several days. Again, sorry about that. Anyway, I'm back on schedule and the next chapter will be up by Wednesday, September 3. Hope you enjoy this one!*** **

**GREEK II: Leo**

It didn't take long to string Octavian from a tree. By throwing a rope over a branch, Leo and Percy were able to hoist the former augur into the air, where he dangled in his net like an ugly, golden-cocooned insect, glaring down at them.

"I'm going to miss Hazel and Frank when they go back," Leo said, "but I won't be sorry to send this guy back across the country."

"Maybe in a catapult," Percy said, rubbing his head where Octavian had hit him.

"What do you think the Romans will do with him?" Annabeth asked.

"I don't know. They'll probably have a Senate meeting to decide." Percy frowned, then shook his head. "Anyway, back to Capture the Flag. The game is still going on, right?"

Distantly, they heard yells and the clang of swords.

"Sounds like it," Leo said.

"So, what's my new job?" Percy asked Annabeth.

She quickly told him what he was supposed to do. When she finished, Percy looked miffed. "Is that all I am to you? A distraction?"

Annabeth kissed his cheek. "Of course not. You just make excellent bait."

Leo slapped Percy on the back. "We all have to do what we're good at, man."

"Speaking of which," Annabeth fixed her gaze on Leo and he thought, _Uh-oh_. "Are all the traps set?"

"I left Nyssa in charge, so they should be," Leo said, "but I'll go double-check." He threw Annabeth a salute, which made her roll her eyes, but Percy grinned. Leo gave them a final wave, then headed back into the woods.

* * *

Leo made his way through the woods, checking the traps the other Hephaestus campers had set up and occasionally ducking behind a tree to avoid roving groups of Romans. A few of the traps had been sprung and it appeared that the legionnaires caught in them had already been carted off as prisoners. There was no way to tell exactly how the game was going, but Leo hoped the Greeks were doing well. He had only a vague idea where Camp Half-Blood's flag was hidden, but that was okay; his job was simply to prevent the Romans from getting through the forest.

As he walked and checked traps, Leo couldn't help thinking about Calypso. He still had a dazed, hit-over-the-head feeling when he thought about his new girlfriend. Today, she'd gone to visit some Nereid friends and he had to admit, he was kind of missing her.

He'd walked her down to the beach this morning, where the Nereids, who were sea spirits, were picking her up. Apparently, they were all going to some great beach near Nantucket.

"I'm sorry I'll miss the game," Calypso told him while they waited for her friends to arrive.

"It's okay," Leo said. "If I'd been stuck on an island by myself for a few millennia, I'd want to get out and visit some of my peeps, too."

"Not exactly how I'd put it, but thanks." Calypso smiled gratefully and kissed him, which sent warmth shooting all the way to Leo's toes. When she pulled away, he glanced down quickly to make sure his feet hadn't caught fire. Luckily, they hadn't.

The Nereids arrived a few minutes later, riding hippocampi, which seemed to be the steed of choice around the ocean, Leo thought. Calypso gave him another kiss, then splashed into the ocean, waving to her friends. The group had quickly disappeared over the horizon, leaving Leo feeling a little forlorn on the beach.

_She'll be back tomorrow_, he reminded himself.

Leo was distracted from thoughts of his girlfriend when he came upon Harley, his younger half-brother, who was trying to reconnect two pieces of Celestial bronze wiring for a trip-wire. He seemed to be having trouble, though; his brow was furrowed and his tongue was sticking out between his teeth as he tried unsuccessfully to twist the frayed ends back together.

"Need some help?" Leo asked.

Harley yelped and dropped his wires. When he saw who it was, though, he relaxed. "Oh, hey, Leo. I thought you were a Roman."

"Nah, all Greek." Leo knelt down beside the kid. "Can I help?"

Harley picked up the ends of his wire and looked at them morosely. "I messed up the measurement and cut the trip-wire a foot short. I tried twisting the ends back together but it's not working."

"Well, it's your lucky day." Leo held up his hand and his index finger ignited with brilliant blue-white fire. "'Cause I make an excellent welding torch."

Harley beamed. He held the ends of the wire together, making sure to keep his hands well back, while Leo quickly soldered the cut ends back together. Then, he helped Harley finish setting the snare.

"Thanks, Leo!" Harley waved as he ran off into the woods to finish setting his traps.

Leo grinned as he set off in the opposite direction. It felt good to help Harley out. Working with the other campers, especially his friends and his fellow Hephaestus campers, gave Leo a sense of belonging. It was a feeling he hadn't experienced in a long time, until last winter when he'd landed at Camp Half-Blood with Jason and Piper. Leo was reminded, again, that he had found a home.

He was shaken from these warm, fuzzy thoughts by an earth-shattering roar from up ahead.

Leo froze. Despite his recent heroic activities in the battles against Gaea and the giants, he had absolutely no desire to find out what was making that noise. Especially since it didn't sound like it had anything to do with Capture the Flag.

But the roar was followed almost immediately by a familiar shriek of pain. Leo's stomach sank.

Piper.

Summoning a three-pound hammer from his toolbelt, Leo sprinted through the trees. He burst into a clearing and skidded to a halt when he caught sight of the monster ahead of him, which filled the clearing with its poisonous green, reptilian body.

A drakon.


	4. NOTE: Delay on Chapter

*****UPDATE: **

** Hi guys,**

** Just a quick note on why this chapter is delayed. For whatever reason, I've been struggling with writing this story. Not sure why, but it's proving to be a pain. So, because I want it to be the best it can be, I'm going to take a week off from posting in order to finish writing and editing. The next chapter, which will feature Hazel's POV, will be up next Friday, September 12. The whole story will be up and finished by Tuesday, September 23 (which will also mark 2 weeks until ****_Blood of Olympus_****!). Don't worry, I'm not abandoning this story, just taking a couple of days to make sure it's as good as I can make it. Hope everyone has a great weekend!**

** MariaClaire *** **


	5. Roman II: Hazel

*****Hi guys! Thanks for your patience and the nice reviews! Hope you enjoy this chapter. The next one will be up Monday, September 15****th****.*****

**ROMAN II: Hazel**

Hazel was doing fine until she ran into Piper. She had been methodically making her way through the woods, using her control over precious metals to find and disable the traps laid by the Hephaestus campers. She felt a little twinge of guilt every time, since she knew the amount of work they'd put into the traps, but she didn't damage them. She just made bolts come loose and welded pieces melt apart; everything could be put back together again later, after the game was over.

Frank had sent her into the southern part of the woods to look for the flag. Nico had gone north, while Reyna had taken the center. The three of them were responsible for finding the flag while the bulk of the Roman campers kept the Greeks occupied near the creek boundary line. Hazel had asked Frank why he didn't want to be one of the people actually searching for the flag.

He'd shifted uncomfortably. "I figured I could help guard our flag. Besides," his eyes flickered to Octavian, who was standing nearby, "I've got a sort of side project I'm working on. Tell you about it later."

Hazel wasn't sure what that was about, but she trusted Frank. And she was determined to do her part to help Camp Jupiter win. Hazel loved her Greek friends from the _Argo II_, but she knew the idea of winning was important to the legion. Designing their strategy for the game was Frank's first real test of leadership for Camp Jupiter and she really wanted him to succeed. As she walked, she was racking her brains, trying to figure out where Annabeth may have hidden the flag.

Hearing a noise up ahead, Hazel ducked behind a massive oak tree. She peeked around the side and saw a kid in an orange t-shirt fiddling with a couple pieces of wire. He must have been a Hephaestus camper, though the boy didn't look older than nine. Hazel debated jumping out and taking him prisoner, but she was kind-of far from the creek boundary and besides, the kid didn't seem like much of a threat. So, staying out of his sight by skirting through the trees, she set off again.

But she hadn't gotten very far when she ran into a familiar face.

"Hi, Hazel." Piper's cornucopia was at her belt. Both her Boread sword and her knife were sheathed and she was smiling, but Hazel looked at her friend warily.

"Hi, Piper. What are you doing?"

Piper shrugged. "Just on guard duty. Keeping Romans from getting too close to our flag."

"So the flag is this way?" Hazel asked, a leap of excitement in her stomach. If she could just get past Piper…

"Did I say that?" Piper's hand drifted casually to the hilt of her knife and Hazel copied her movement, letting her own hand rest on her _spatha_.

Hazel's eyes narrowed. "You were sent out here to distract me."

"Maybe." Piper smiled sweetly. But before she could say anything else, her eyes widened and the smile slid off her face. "Hazel, look out!"

Hazel rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, Piper, I am not falling for—"

There was a crashing sound from behind her. Hazel started to turn, but Piper dove forward and tackled her out of the way just as a massive scaly, taloned foot stomped the ground exactly where she had just been standing.

Both girls rolled out of the way as the drakon stomped around, crushing small trees with its feet and knocking down bigger ones with its tail. The thing was as long as a school bus and bright, poisonous green. It threw its head back and roared so loudly Hazel fought the urge to cover her ears.

"Is this part of the distraction?" she asked.

Piper shook her head. "Definitely not."

They got to their feet and drew their swords as the drakon swung its head around, noticing them for the first time. Its orange eyes fixed them with a hateful look that froze Hazel to the spot. Hazel had fought giants. She'd faced the primordial Earth goddess, Gaea. None of that made the drakon any less terrifying. Its mouth was so large, it could swallow her in one bite.

She forced herself to take a deep breath and think. "It can't go after both of us at once. You go left, I'll go right. We'll attack from both sides."

Piper swallowed. "Aim for its eyes. That should be a weak point."

As the drakon roared again and charged forward, Hazel and Piper dodged out of the way. Hazel twisted and stabbed her sword at the drakon's eye as it passed her, its momentum keeping it moving forward even though its prey had gotten out of the way. The drakon jerked its head up, though, putting its eye out of reach.

Hazel attacked the drakon again, but she missed striking it when the monster roared and dodged to the side. It smacked into Piper, who flew backwards with a shriek. She slammed into a tree and slid out of sight behind the drakon.

Hazel didn't have time to check and see if her friend was alright. The drakon was turning toward Piper and Hazel knew she needed to keep its focus on her.

"Here!" she yelled, swinging her sword to attract its attention. She considered using the Mist to create some kind of illusion but she was unable to concentrate as the drakon came towards her, opening a mouth lined with razor-sharp fangs as long as her arm.

Hazel reacted instinctively. She swung her _spatha_, leaving a three-foot long gash right across the monster's nose. The drakon bellowed again. It snapped at her and Hazel very narrowly avoided becoming monster-chow. The drakon's teeth missed her by an inch. Instead, the edge of its jaw caught her in the shoulder with a powerful blow, knocking her to the ground. Her arm went numb and she lost her grip on her sword.

The drakon's eyes gleamed. It knew she was in trouble. Hazel tried to focus on the earth below her but she couldn't sense any gems or precious metals. She was dizzy from the drakon's blow and the monster was blocking her view of Piper. Hazel had no way of knowing if her friend was back on her feet.

_This is a stupid way to die_, she thought dazedly as the drakon bared its teeth.

Suddenly, fire erupted from the vicinity of the dragon's tail.

Hazel's first thought: Oh gods, it's like Hecate's crazy farting weasel. Only with fire.

But the next moment, she realized that the drakon looked equally surprised to see the flames. It roared and swung around. Hazel flattened herself against the ground to avoid being swatted by its tail.

As the drakon charged away from her, Hazel raised her head to see its new target.

"Leo!" Hazel had no idea where he had come from, but she had to appreciate his timing.

Leo waved a fiery hand but didn't take his eyes off the drakon. From his shoulders to his fingertips, his arms were wreathed in flames, which Hazel had to admit looked pretty impressive. As the drakon approached him, Leo narrowed his eyes in concentration and shot a white-hot jet of fire directly into the monster's eye.

The drakon bellowed in agony. It stomped around the clearing, shaking its head, and Leo took the opportunity to run over and help Hazel stand.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Fine," she said, wincing as she rolled her shoulder. It hurt, but she could still fight. She picked up her sword and looked around. "Where's Piper?"

"Here!" Piper ran up to them. There were leaves and twigs stuck in her hair, but otherwise she looked okay for someone who had just been slammed against a tree. "I tried to stab that thing in the side but the scales are like iron. Then it knocked me over again when it went after Leo."

"Yeah, so much for a nice, quiet game of Capture the Flag," Leo muttered. On the other side of the clearing, the drakon was clawing at its blistered eye. Hazel knew they didn't have long before it turned its attention back to them.

"What are we going to do?" Piper asked. "We can't just let it run around the woods."

"I have an idea," Hazel told Piper and Leo. Before she could explain, the drakon raised its head. It fixed its good eye on the three of them and Hazel could see pure rage there. Clearly, the only thought in its tiny brain was, "Kill!"

"Uh-oh," Leo said.

"I have a plan," Hazel said. "Just follow me."

The drakon's roar shook the ground. As it barreled towards them, Hazel, Piper, and Leo took off sprinting into the trees.


	6. Greek III: Piper

*****Hi guys! Hope you enjoy this chapter. We're just over the halfway point with this story! Beginning with the next chapter, the focus will be entirely on which side will capture the flag first. The next chapter will be up by Thursday, September 18.*****

**GREEK III: Piper**

Piper had no idea what Hazel's plan was, but it didn't matter at the moment as the three of them raced through the woods, trying to stay ahead of the drakon, which was roaring and stomping through the trees behind them, leaving a path of broken branches in its wake. Luckily, or not, this part of the woods was deserted; the game seemed to have moved elsewhere.

Piper, Hazel, and Leo splashed across a creek, then scrambled up the bank on the other side.

"Hazel, where are we going?" Leo wheezed.

Hazel's eyes were darting around the trees. She skidded to a stop and pointed into the bushes ahead of them. "There!"

Piper and Leo stopped, too, both gasping for breath. Piper had no idea what Hazel was pointing to, but Leo's eyes widened. "That's brilliant," he said.

"What is it?" Piper asked.

"Roman trap, I'm guessing," Leo said. "Look, there's a tripwire between those two trees, just ahead. And behind that," he whistled, "what is that, a giant slingshot?"

"Basically," Hazel said. "It's filled with caltrops. The ends are blunted, so they won't kill anyone, but they'll still sting. Plus, these ones are rigged to go off like flash bombs."

Now that she knew what to look for, Piper could just barely see the glimmer of the tripwire through the forest-gloom. The slingshot and caltrop were masterfully concealed in the trees. If Piper hadn't known to look for the trap, she would never have known it was there. "So someone runs across the tripwire and then—"

"They get hit in the face with a big mess of BAM," Leo said. "Dang, wish I'd thought of that."

"You're welcome to use the idea, if we survive," Hazel said. The drakon was behind them, it's claws digging into the mud as it tried to climb out of the creek. "We have to get it to cross the tripwire. Then, hopefully, the flash bombs will disorient it and we can send this thing back to Tartarus."

* * *

The drakon took the bait. Unfortunately, Piper was the bait. She was standing just behind the tripwire, trying to look cornered and afraid, which wasn't hard. Hazel and Leo were hiding just off to either side, ready to jump in once the drakon was disoriented; they'd all figured that the drakon would be less wary if it only saw one unarmed victim waiting for it. As the drakon approached her, Piper decided she kind of really hated this plan, but she also thought it would probably work.

The drakon approached slowly, snarling, its orange eyes fixed on Piper. Her knees were shaking, but she forced herself to stay still. _You've faced worse monsters than this_, she reminded herself, thinking of Enceladus or Porphyrion or Gaea. But her stomach was still in knots as she looked at the drakon's teeth, which were as long as her arm. The monster was only a few feet away from the tripwire, but it paused, as if it suspected a trap.

Piper took a step backward, as if she were trying to get away. The drakon bought it. It took the final steps forward and the tripwire snapped against its forelegs.

Piper hit the ground.

SNAP.

WHOOSH.

BANG.

The air was suddenly full of the popping sounds of explosions. The bombs were so bright Piper could see the flashes behind her closed eyelids. The drakon bellowed in anger and surprise. Piper quickly scrambled out of the away to avoid being stomped by it. She drew her sword and as the explosions died down, she opened her eyes.

The drakon was directly in front of her, its pupils dilated from the flash bomb blasts. It was temporarily blind.

Piper, Hazel, and Leo charged forward. Hazel stabbed at the monster's eye and Leo smacked it on the nose with a pipe wrench, while Piper lunged forward and drove her sword into the roof of the drakon's mouth. The monster dissolved into dust, sprinkling the forest floor, leaving Piper and her friends standing in the empty clearing, breathing hard.

"That was fun," Leo said.

"Oh yeah," Piper replied. "Now, assuming the game is still going on, we should probably get back—"

"I don't think so." Hazel smiled evilly. "You're on the Roman side. Which means I get to take you both prisoner."

"Wait, what?" Leo asked.

Piper didn't get a chance to say anything, because at that moment, the ground dropped out from beneath her feet. She screamed as she and Leo fell into a pit that had been hidden under a blanket of leaves. At least, Piper thought it had been hidden. For all she knew, Hazel had just created it with her Mist abilities.

The dirt bottom of the pit was soft, which Piper was grateful for, but it was at least twelve feet below ground. "Hazel!"

"Sorry, guys!" Hazel called down. "I'll see you after the game!"

* * *

Piper and Leo tried everything they could think of to get out of the pit, but with no luck. The walls were too smooth to climb; there weren't even any stray tree roots to grab on to, further leading Piper to believe that the pit had been magically created. Leo managed to make a grappling hook with supplies from his toolbelt, but it refused to catch on to anything at the top of the pit. Piper guessed that they were in the middle of the clearing, with no nearby trees. She couldn't see any branches hanging over their heads, just the clear blue summer sky. Finally, after the grappling hook had fallen back into the pit again and nearly landed on Leo's head, he gave it up as a bad job. They looked at each other.

"Well, this stinks," Piper said.

"Yeah. She got us." Leo reached into his toolbelt again and pulled out a deck of cards. "Since it looks like we'll be stuck here a while, want to play?"

Piper crossed her arms. "Seriously?"

Leo shrugged. "It's either that or we can sit here and look at each other. I mean, I know I'm total eye-candy, but—"

Piper had to laugh. "Okay, when you put it that way, fine, let's play." She sat down across from Leo at the bottom of the pit. "I just hope the rest of our team is having better luck."

"Agreed." Leo shuffled the cards a couple times, then began dealing them out. "Alright, Beauty Queen. The name of the game is War."


	7. Chapter 7: End Note

*****Hi guys,**

** I hate to do this, but unfortunately, I am not going to be able to finish this story. Life and writer's block have gotten in the way. I delayed posting this note for weeks because I kept thinking I would get back into the story, but sadly, it hasn't happened. However, I did want to give some information about what happens at the end. The next POV was supposed to be Nico, who is stealthily sneaking around the woods. He stumbles upon Octavian, still hanging in his tree and taking a nap in the net. Nico thinks that is weird, but is glad someone shut the stupid augur up. He then finds Annabeth guarding the Greeks' flag. He distracts her with some skeletons. While that is going on, Reyna sneaks in and grabs the flag.**

** Meanwhile, Jason (who is the POV character) and Percy reach the Romans' flag, which is being guarded by Frank. Frank defends the flag, but Jason is finally able to capture it. He takes off through the woods.**

** Reyna's POV: Reyna is running through the woods with the Greeks' flag, dodging trees and soldiers and the occasional monster. She manages to make it to the creek boundary line and leaps across. The Romans win the game.**

** Later, while everyone is enjoying the celebratory dinner before the Romans head back to California in the morning, Reyna and Frank and some of the others discuss what is to be done about Octavian. Decide they will discuss it in the Senate when they get back to Camp Jupiter, but it's not looking good. He will likely be drummed out of the legion.**

** Final POV is Annabeth. She apologizes again to Percy for getting him knocked over the head by Octavian; Percy says it's cool. Cute Percabeth moment (because all my stories tend to end on a Percabeth moment), glad camps are getting along, looking forward to the future, etc, etc. THE END.**

** I know people may have expected the Greeks to win, but while I love Camp Half-Blood, when I looked at the characters that were on each team—Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, and Leo for Greek; Reyna, Frank, Hazel, and Nico for Roman—it seemed like the Roman characters needed the win more. **

** So, that's how the story goes.**

** Again, I'm sorry I won't be able to finish it. But the good news is that I do have a new story up, **_**Aphrodite's Hairbrush**_**. Aphrodite's hairbrush has been stolen and she needs Piper and Annabeth to help her get it back. It's a post-BoO (the real BoO) story. I'm also working on a longer post-BoO story that I hope to start posting at the end of December, so stay tuned!*****


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